The Big List

Not all recommended titles will be given equal weight. Lists are incomplete but will continue to be expanded. The list is currently updated through to the fifteenth page of this forum thread.

Recommended Movies

12 Angry Men
2001: A Space Odyssey
48 Hours
A Knight's Tale
A League of Their Own
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Airplane!
AkiraAlien
Aliens
Amadeus
An American Werewolf in London
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Angel Heart
Animal House
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Any Given SundayBack to the Future
Batman
Batman Begins
Beetlejuice
Better Off Dead
Beverly Hills Cop
Big Fish
Big Trouble in Little China
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
Blade Runner
Blazing Saddles
Blood Simple
Blue Chips
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Brotherhood of the Wolf
Buckaroo Banzai
Bulletproof Monk
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Caddyshack
Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Chinatown
Clerks
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Coraline
Daredevil
Dark City
Die Hard
Dragonslayer
Ed Wood
Enter the Dragon
EquilibriumEscape From New York
ET: The Extra-Terrestrial
Excalibur
Fargo
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Field of Dreams
Fight Club
Five Deadly Venoms
Flash Gordon
For a Fist Full of Dollars
Forbidden Planet
Galaxy Quest
Gattaca
Ghost in the ShellGhostbusters
Goodfellas
Gremlins
Greystoke
GrindhouseGroundhog Day
Halloween
Hard Boiled
High Planes Drifter
Highlander
Hoosiers
Howl's Moving Castle
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Ink
Iron Man
Iron Man 2
Iron Man 3
James Bond series
Jaws
Jeremiah JohnsonJurassic Park
Kelly's Heroes
Kill Bill
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Kung Fu Hustle
L.A. ConfidentialLabyrinthLadyhawke
Legend of the Drunken Master
Lethal Weapon
Lord of the Rings trilogy
Love and Basketball
Love, Actually
Lucky Number Slevin
Major League
Mean Girls
Men In Black series
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Much Ado About Nothing
Near Dark
Necessary Roughness
Night of the Living Dead
O Brother Where Art Thou
Office Space
Once Upon A Time in the WestPirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
Poltergeist
Predator
Pulp FictionRaiders of the Lost Ark
Raising Arizona
Red Dawn
Remember the Titans
Repo Man
Reservoir Dogs
RobocopRocky
Romancing the Stone
Run Lola Run
Say Anything
Seven
Shanghai Noon
Shaolin Soccer
Silence of the Lambs
Silent Movie
Space Jam
Spaceballs
Speed
Spider-Man
Spider-Man 2
SplashStar Wars: A New HopeStar Wars: Return of the JediStar Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Stargate
Starman
Streets of FireTerminator 2: Judgment Day
The 13th Warrior
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
The Avengers
The Big LebowskiThe Blues Brothers
The Company of Wolves
The Dark Crystal
The Dark Knight
The Descent
The Duellists
The Four Musketeers
The Gift
The Godfather series
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
The Goonies
The History of the World Part 1
The Hunt for Red October
The Incredible Hulk
The Iron Giant
The Killer
The Lion in Winter
The Lost Boys
The Matrix
The Mummy
The Muppet Movie
The Natural
The Nightmare Before ChristmasThe Princess Bride
The Program
The Rocketeer
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Sixth Sense
The Shawshank RedemptionThe Terminator
The Thing
The Three Musketeers
The UntouchablesThe Usual Suspects
The Wild Bunch
Thor
Thor: The Dark World
Time Bandits
Tombstone
Tremors
Troy
Unforgiven
WarGames
Wayne's World
Who Framed Roger Robbit?
Willow
X-Men
X-Men 2
Young Frankenstein

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Culture series
Discworld series
Dune
Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser
Harry Potter series
HP Lovecraft (assorted works)
Hyperion
I, Robot
Ray Bradbury (assorted works)
Rendezvous with Rama
Something Wicked This Way Comes
The Forever War
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series
The Hobbit
The Hunger Games series
The Lord of the Rings
The Sandman
V For Vendetta
Watchmen
Watership Down

Rather than "Inception", I'd strongly recommend Nolan's earlier "Memento". Without giving anything away, the story is told in reverse and the whole point is to reconstruct how the previous scene makes sense given new information. I think it would really fit well with your "lemme guess..." and "wtf did I just see" style of analysis.

Not sure how mobile Jeremy is, but if he can get to a movie theater, it seems like it would be good to get him caught up on some franchises (X-Men or Marvel) so that he can enjoy seeing some of these big movies as they come out as well.

I know some of these are already on the grand list but since you have been reviewing more of the classics of nerd movie culture, and less of the more modern stuff, I highly suggest Robin Hood Men in Tights, Spaceballs (especially relevant since it parodies a good bit of Star Wars and Star Trek), Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, and History of the World Part 1. All of these movies are by Mel Brooks who is hands down the greatest comedy film producer to have ever lived.

Is there some kind of thing you have in place for letting your readers nominate and vote on movies and other media anywhere? Because 1) alphabetical order doesn't cut it; it jumbles together amazing, iconic films with crap and 2) there are a lot of things not even on the list that are better than things on the list.

I think the simplest way to go would be a wiki. How about a wiki for the list?

One of the best animated movies of all time. I'm being serious. It was the highest grossing movie in japan in 2001 (knocking Titanic down to #2) and held that title until this month (almost 13 years later) when Frozen finally beat it.

Ah I suggested Labyrinth in another comment, but I hadn't seen this list then..... Its already in there.

However, from a british perspective "a clockwork orange" should be on there........ And if you really want something to twist your noodle, "trainspotting", although I think you'll need the subtitled version they had in the states rather than the unsubtitled one in the UK

Film recommendation: The Warriors. It's a terrible/wonderful 70's film retelling of The Anabasis by Xenophon as a gang war (of sorts). The blatant sexism and racism are a bit grating, but it's worth it just to see all of the *insane* "gangs"--like the ones who wear clown makeup and Yankees uniforms. Also, a couple of classic one-liners.

Most entertainingly viewed as the first film in a double feature, followed by Escape from New York.

Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz - british comedies, both parodies - the former a parody of zombie films (the name being a play on Dawn of the Dead), and the latter of buddy-cop movies. Possible either of them might have eye gore, none is coming to mind but they both have their share of gore (its not designed or intended to scare the shit of you though, don't worry - more for shock humor).

Actually, perhaps watch some zombie films and buddy-cop films first, haha. I'm sure you'll have some on the list. They're good films in their own right, but definitely better if you know the tropes they're using and subverting.

I notice a distinct lack of a category for Musicals. Jeremy, if you grew up liking musicals, then there are some good ones out there on DVD that you should consider adding to your list Grease, Into the Woods, Les Miserables, Rent, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, Jekyll and Hyde, Little Shop of Horrors (which oddly enough is a comedy), The Music Man, and Sweeney Todd (please watch the version with Angela Lansbury as opposed to the one with Johnny Depp...or at least watch the Angela Lansbury first as it is the most true to the Broadway Production.) There are others that would constitute classics that don't quite make my list of favorites that include A Chorus Line, Cats, Gypsy, Company, Carousel, Oklahoma, and Phantom of the Opera.

If I may make a recommendation: "Birdemic: Shock and Terror." What is unique about this movie is that it is so terrible, so bad, so heinously, abysmally, painfully awful that it unintentionally became one of the funniest movies ever made (same goes for the more famous "The Room"). It must be seen to be believed.

I recommend you find Godzilla. The original 1954 version (NOT the 1998 version). And then see if you can track down Pacific Rim.

If you're looking into Doctor Who, I'd suggest you have your friends consider very carefully how they're going to ease you in, and whether they start you off with the Classic Series (which started back in 1963), or the revival (which started off in 2005). I'd be interested to see your reaction to the big reveal in the second ever story, which had people hiding behind the sofa. Of course, you've seen Alien now, so I imagine you won't feel the impact.

Game of Thrones, both the books and the tv series, should wait until you are jaded. It's primary purpose is to shake up jaded people who think they've figured out how all stories work, and that they can't be shocked any more. There are more "That did NOT just happen" moments in it than anything else, which is why everyone raves about it, but this includes gore and squick in addition to story points.

So you mentioned having a problem with stories that have parental abandonment/death in them. Here are the ones I've seen that might hit you there; I've starred ones that have it as a specific plot point.

As a fellow music lover (of all sorts), I'd like to suggest that you taste some Broadway musical-type movies. I've only a few in my collection, but I love them. Great music, and good voices.

Cabaret (the one with Joel Grey and Liza Minelli)A Chorus Line

And a very popular, long-running musical, The Phantom of the Opera. There's a recording of the 25th Anniversary Gala performance out there, which is amazing. I never liked the play until I saw this performance.

Real Broadway aficionados (friends of mine) would add Into the Woods and Company. I think the music is great, but these represent what I think of as the "New York voice", which I find unappealing.

It's been a real pleasure to read your accounts of your movie experiences.

Just a PS. Make sure to start rehab as soon as possible. My experience is that it's harder if one waits too long. If you haven't already been assigned a rehab specialist, I suggest that you pound on your doctors to get one assigned. Get well soon.

Enders Game. Definitely the book, not the movie! The movie is apparently a half decent movie on its own, but a terrible adaptation, if that makes any sense. If it were on the list, it'd be a looong way down. The book, on the other hand... even if the author is a bit of a dick, hes one hell of a sci-fi writer.

The rest of the series, and its 'shadow' series, are interesting if you enjoy Enders Game first, but I wouldn't recommend them otherwise.

My subconscious has the idea that love for the Blues Brothers = you'd probably very enjoy Grosse Point Blank, although the music is very different.

Action, smart comedy, a cast who appear to be having a ball, and a soundtrack that relates very directly to what we're seeing.

On the anime tip, I'd recommend the Vision of Escaflowne (series not movie) before anything else -- a scifi / fantasy mishmash with a little something for everybody and a soundtrack (NOT including opening and closing credits, which are best skipped) that approaches Star Wars brilliance.

Rocky Horror Picture Show! We have actually started watching the movies you do and reading your posts at the same time, it's like watching the movies for the first time all over again! Thank you and all the happy feels are coming your way from Australia

I see that someone else in comments mentioned "The Truman Show" and I think that's a terrific suggestion for your list of movies to watch. It was made by an absolutely STELLAR director, but one you probably haven't encountered yet, and it benefits a great deal from being seen "cold" with no information about what's coming. It's not quite SF, and it isn't an action film, but it's ... rewarding. I think.

I also see that "Dark City" is already on the list... but get your roomies to SKIP the opening monologue before letting you see the film proper -- they should know what I mean, and the monologue was added at the very last second before release and is widely regarded as undermining the wonderful "omg what is going on OH MY GOSH" that is the film's gradual reveal.

There's a surprising lack of John Hughes (Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off) and Pixar (Toy Story, The Incredibles) on this list. I know these are supposed to be "Geek Movies", but so many movies on this list are not Geek Movies as far as I can tell, they're just GREAT movies. (E.g. How is Blues Brothers a geek movie?). And what about romantic comedy, e.g. When Harry Met Sally? This list is going to give Jeremy a seriously skewed perspective on modern cinema.

A friend of mine recommended this blog over the weekend and it's been a lot fun to go through. I was not expecting an anime section but since it's there I've formed some immediate opinions.

1) I don't think Jeremy should watch Higurashi. 2) I don't think Jeremy should watch something like Azumanga Daioh or Evangelion without a bit of a foundation.

With the purpose of getting him a little familiar with the medium, this is my combined recommendation/viewing order/anime training montage list:Giant RoboSailor MoonGalaxy Express 999ChihayafuruNarutoMobile Suit Gundam Movie

I can't believe nobody's recommended Scott Pilgrim vs. The World yet. It's a cult classic, and set in Canada (Toronto, to be precise). Maybe one of the few movies filmed in Toronto where it's not doubling for somewhere else.

Or for that matter any of Edgar Wright's other filmography. Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World's End...all classics.